SINGAPORE -- Seagate Technology today announced that it is setting up its third media plant in Singapore to expand its recording media manufacturing operations.

Global demand for hard disc drives is growing, and expected to reach $40 billion by 2009.

Today’s announcement establishes Singapore as Seagate’s central media manufacturing hub. With the third plant, operations will supply about 80% of Seagate’s production of recording media, a critical component in the assembly of its disc drives.

The plant will be built close to the company’s existing Woodlands facility. Production is expected to start by mid 2008 and create up to 3,000 jobs when the plant is fully operational.

Seagate’s media manufacturing operations in Singapore spans over a decade. The company established its first overseas volume manufacturing facility outside the U.S. in Singapore in 1982 and its first recording media operations facility outside North America in 1996.

In 2005, Singapore accounted for a quarter of the world’s market share for disc media. In addition to Seagate, companies like Showa Denko and Hoya have made significant hard disk media operations in Singapore.